The Best Camping Mattresses of 2024

Newly revamped back in 2023, the REI Co-op Camp Dreamer XL ($179) is back, still sporting all of the large and in-charge camping pad energy we loved in its previous iterations. At a plush 4 inches, this comfort-to-cost ratio on this budget pad is off the charts, and it lands itself high on our lists for not only ultra-comfortable but also affordable, camping mattresses. With an R-value of 6.6, it’s got the warmth to keep you going far into the shoulder seasons.

Gone is the previous foam-filled pad pump that doubled as a pillow, and in its place is a new pump sack, which in testing we found to be an improvement in terms of speed and packability. The reversible high-flow valve is simple, and deflating the pad at the end of a trip is quite easy. If you want something that rivals the comfort of the MondoKing 3D or NEMO Roamer XL but clocks in for a few dollars less, this is the pad for you.

All of that plush comfort has to come at some cost, and here it’s packed size, which is pretty dang bulky. Though certainly not as much of a concern with car campers, you should remember to leave space for the mattress when you’re playing packing games to get everything to fit. For a budget pad that’ll take up less space (but not be as comfy), check out the REI Co-op Campwell Mattress.

Unfortunately, our time with the Camp Dreamer was cut short when one of our tester’s cats (who promises he is otherwise a very good boy) decided he also wanted to check out the cushion and ended up putting holes in the mattress. This is when we discovered that no repair kit ships with the pad, and we had to make do with Tenacious Tape. Not a long-term fix and tough to get to adhere perfectly to the stretch polyester upper, but it got us through the rest of the camping trip.

Best for those who want a comfortable pad but don’t want to part with an arm and a leg for it, the Camp Dreamer XL has all the luxury with little of the cost typically involved. Just make sure to accommodate your clawed camp pals elsewhere for the evening.

Read Review: Your Home Mattress Away From Home: NEMO Roamer Double Review

Anyone who’s ever called their car home will appreciate the NEMO Roamer XL ($250). This is the ultimate adventure mobile mattress. It’s thick, warm, and it’s seriously comfortable. With 4 inches of open-cell foam, you can sleep soundly wherever home happens to be. If you’re settling in for the long haul at a remote base camp, the Roamer XL is the mattress to do it with.

As with most self-inflating pads, you’ll need to top it off for maximum comfort. But the micro-adjust valve makes it easy to add air without worrying about losing any. And we liked how the one-way valves make quick work of deflating the pad fully when it’s time to pack up camp.

Traditional air mattresses are thin and more susceptible to tears, but with the foam construction and a 75-denier polyester bottom, the Roamer XL is truly built to withstand camping outside. As an additional perk, the loops and toggles on the side allow you to connect two Roamers to create a two-person mattress.

While it’s not ultralight by any means, it packs down fairly small for the added comfort it offers (about the size of a winter sleeping bag, or 10 x 16 inches).

We put this camping mattress through extensive use, and after more than 150 nights, it finally stopped holding air. The valves developed a slow leak that left us needing to top it off every night. For a permanent van or car dweller, it may not be ideal. But, for someone who car camps when exploring, we’d highly recommend it.

Therm-a-Rest followed the winning formula of its NeoAir XLite and XTherm pads to produce its most luxurious NeoAir pad yet: the NeoAir Topo Luxe ($180-230). At 4 inches thick, it’s also easily the most comfortable and fills an interesting niche between camping and backpacking better than any pad we’ve slept on thus far.

When we initially tested the Topo Luxe during an overnight in North Cascades National Park, we had reservations. Typically, when a pure air mattress reaches a certain thickness it suffers from waterbed syndrome — an ailment where any movement translates into a bouncy ride.

Our fears, thankfully, were unfounded, largely thanks to Therm-a-Rest’s use of its Triangular Core Matrix: a double-stacked layer of baffles that stabilize the pad across its length. Now 3 years into our testing, we can confidently say that the Topo Luxe is tough enough to hang.

Because it’s the same recipe as other NeoAir pads, it doesn’t sport vertical sidewalls, which can make for less usable space for sleeping on. The pad also uses 50-denier polyester across the top and bottom, which is a thinner material than some of the pads on our list, and it’ll need to be treated as such.

The Topo Luxe isn’t the only pad riding the fence between the front and backcountry, and you might also consider the NEMO Quasar 3D. This pad is a bit shy of the Topo Luxe when it comes to pure specs (its half an inch thinner, and a bit less warm), but it does sport a different construction that builds a gentle cradle into the sleeping surface. For some, this will be worth the switch alone, though we’ll caution that the valve is a good bit more finicky.

No one-trick pony, this pad even slipped into our packs on shorter backpacking overnights where we can indulge in a few luxury items. As a real master of two domains, the NeoAir Topo Luxe would make an excellent pad for those who split their time between the front country and the back, or who want to simplify their gear closet.

Read Review: Mega Size, Warmth, & Comfort: Exped ‘MegaMat’

When comfort is your main concern, the Exped MegaMat Duo 10 ($350-500) is your answer. What it lacks in packed size and affordability, it more than makes up for in size and comfort with 4″ of foam and air cradling you and yours off to sleep. And while some double camping mattresses or sleeping pads perpetually send one partner for a ride when the other moves, the MegaMat Duo is stable and quiet.

As with all self-inflating pads, expect to top it off after heavy use. But instead of having to blow into it, you can use the included mini pump, which simplifies inflation and minimizes effort. It also includes a repair kit should you ever get a tear (although we’ve found it impressively durable).

One of our favorite things about this pad is how level it is. Some camping mattresses pop up in the middle when filled, but thanks to the 3D construction, this bad boy stays flat even when fully inflated and being slept on. At 77.6 inches long and 52 inches wide, the MegaMat is large enough to snugly fit two adults or spaciously sleep one. For reference, a double-size fitted sheet fits almost perfectly.

The durable sidewalls provide support, and as our tester noted, “The vertical sidewalls increase the usable sleeping surface. This small addition compared to other mattresses and pads is instantly noticeable.” Apart from adding comfort and space, these impressive sidewalls also help keep you dry in really bad weather. “During one stretch, Mother Nature pounded us with rain for 3 days straight. The height and larger surface kept me dry and warm even over wet ground,” they reported.

Not lightweight, you’ll certainly notice the heft of the MegaMat among your camping supplies — it’s easily one of the heaviest we reviewed that isn’t a full foam mattress design. Along with that will be a bulky packed size, which makes this a camping mattress best suited for close-to-the-car endeavors.

Durable, comfortable, and stable — this is the ultimate camping mattress for two people. It’s also available as a single. If you don’t mind the weight, it’s one of the best camping mattresses you can buy.

For quick and easy setup, it’s tough to beat the convenience of a good air bed. With no internal foam, air beds like the ALPS Mountaineering Vertex ($180) pack away into much smaller packages over their self-inflating cousins, and when it comes to the best of the best, the Vertex is just about on top.

To be sure: Full air beds like the Vertex are better suited to warmer weather camping when the lack of insulation won’t be as much of a concern, but for summer nights when you’re tossing up camp in a hurry, the Vertex makes the grade in our books.

While the air mattress you might roll out for the in-laws is likely twice as thick as this mattress, we’ve found that these domestic versions fare poorly when taken outdoors. This is because, while they boast a very thick build, all of the air inside is particularly difficult for even a pair of campers to warm up. At 6 inches thick, the Vertex Air Bed from ALPS balances the issue well — providing enough comfort and warmth during our testing.

Gone are the D-cell-powered pumps of the past, too, as the Vertex comes with a rechargeable pump that cuts the cord and simplifies deploying the pad. While not the leader in warmth or comfort, the Vertex Air Bed does make a strong case for ease of use in a camping mattress.

After testing this uber-comfortable mattress for a full fall-winter-spring cycle, the consensus among our testers was clear: You can pry the Exped Luxe Mat ($350-400) from our warm, cozy fingers. For those building out a van, this is the pad we’ll recommend going forward as an ideal bed substitute.

Looking very much like Exped’s MegaMat 10, the real difference is all in that knit cover, which is insulated with baffled wool and covered in an organic cotton stretch fabric that is luxuriously soft to the touch. Seriously, this is one cozy mattress to snuggle up on, and the cover is fully removable and launderable to keep it feeling fresh.

That cover also opens up a new degree of functionality that we haven’t seen in camping mattresses before, and that’s organization. At the head of the pad, two stretch pockets — one zippered, one not — are positioned to keep your essentials close at hand during the night. We found these perfect parking spots for our phones, keys, and headlamps.

The Luxe Mat is also made to be paired up with other Luxe Mats, leveraging zippers on the sidewalls to affix them together. This attachment system is easily our favorite among our tested pads to date, and it creates a strong connection with no cracks to slip into. With two pads zipped together, you can even set them up in a couch mode — a function that garnered a not small number of fans during our testing.

So why doesn’t the Luxe Mat rank higher in our lineup here? That added comfort does come at a little ding to overall weight — 6 pounds, 12 ounces compared to the 4 pounds, 9 ounces of the MegaMat 10 — but not much in bulk, which is just about the same. It’s also a luxury beyond what most campers are likely to want to expend on, and more in the realm of van lifers investing for the long haul.

For high-comfort basecamping, however, we’ll gladly tote the extra ounces of the Luxe Mat every time. 

Comfort, ahoy! The new Big Agnes Capitan Comfort Deluxe ($250-350) is the warmest and coziest from the brand to date, pumping out an 8+ R-value and 5 inches of foam-core comfort.

We absolutely loved kicking back on this pad during a recent testing trip to Joshua Tree National Park, where cold desert nights sent us running to our bags once the sun went down. Luckily the impressive warmth of the Captain Comfort bounced our body heat right back at us, ensuring a toasty night.

Constructed with a foam-core construction, this self-inflator will keep you a full 5 inches off the ground, and thanks to the vertical side walls you can use every inch of the sleeping surface. We also truly appreciated the dual pull-tab valves during inflation and deflation, as well as the oversized side-opening stuff sack — no more fighting to stuff it back in!

Compared to other similar mattresses like the Therm-a-Rest MondoKing 3D or the NEMO Roamer XL, the Captain Comfort does edge both when it comes to warmth, but at a tradeoff when it comes to weight. At similar dimensions, the Captain Comfort is roughly 1 pound heavier than both. This makes it tough to recommend the Capitan over either, as you can get either for the same or less than the Big Agnes option.

Perfect for cooler nights when you need an edge against the chill, however, the Captain Comfort is high on our list of camping pads to bring with you into the shoulder season. And for those who are looking to outfit the back of their truck for a slice of the #vanlife, the 41″ x 72″ size is a few inches shorter than both the single and double versions to accommodate typical 6-foot-long truck beds.

Like a number of other mattresses on our list, the NEMO Quasar 3D Pad ($160-200) is comfortable playing double-duty as a camping mattress turned backpacking pad. Compact, lightweight, and simple to set up, this pad covers the range for whatever you’re looking to get into.

Stacked up next to the Therm-a-Rest Neoair Topo Luxe, the Quasar takes the edge on a few facets, most notably the 3D baffling that creates a gentle curve to keep your body centered while sleeping, and slightly lifts your head. During testing our campers certainly noticed this feature, which helps make up for any inconsistencies in the ground you’re sleeping on.

At 3.5 inches thick, the Quasar is a bit thinner than the Topo Luxe, although we found that pretty much anything over 3 inches thick feels about the same. The regular/wide version we tested provided ample sleeping space at 72 inches long and 25 inches wide, and other versions exist as well, including a long wide, and a double.

Compared to the pump sack provided with current Therm-a-Rest mattresses, we did take a liking to the Vortex sack ever so slightly more, as its narrow fill neck makes rolling down the bag an easier affair. We will note, however, that due to the design of the Quick Dump valve on the Quasar, if you overinflate the mattress with the pump sack, the valve will eject on its own! This is the single reason that keeps this mattress from taking the crossover camping and backpacking title, and we hope that later iterations will come up with a new way to inflate/deflate.

The Quasar comes in both insulated and non-insulated versions (we tested the insulated), although both are a bit under-gunned when it comes to warmth compared to other pads on our list. At an R-value of 3.3 (and 1.8 non-insulated), the Quasar will likely be relegated for summertime use.

Comparatively, the Topo Luxe specs out at 3.7. Value warmth and weight over all else? The Topo Luxe is probably your pad. But if you’re looking for packable comfort that cradles you as you sleep, it’s hard to beat the Quasar 3D.

Do you like a good memory foam mattress? Let us introduce you to the Therm-a-Rest LuxuryMap Sleeping Pad ($180-240), with 3 inches of air and engineered foam that provide plenty of cushioning for a good night’s sleep — all at a palatable price. And, with an R-value of 6, it will keep you warm on chilly summer nights (and into the shoulder seasons with the proper sleeping bag).

The horizontal core foam is designed to pack up easily and (as you can see in the above image) is mapped out in such a way as to provide more support in the areas that will see the most weight. We learned the hard way one night that these foam baffles make for a lumpy, uncomfortable surface if not fully inflated. When topped off, however, this pad rivals any hotel bed for comfort.

At 3 inches thick, this mattress has become one of our favorites to pair with a camping cot, as it isn’t too tall to make us feel off-balance when stacked atop a cot. Compared to the Therm-a-Rest BaseCamp Sleeping Pad, which is 2 inches thick, it’s fairly impressive just how much more comfortable an extra inch can be, and we’ll say confidently that this is just about the sweet spot for thickness when it comes to camping pads.

A soft, stretch-knit surface is comfortable next to the skin, which means this pad won’t need any sort of sheet to be cozy. The two TwinLock high-flow valves are simple, and deflating the pad at the end of a trip is quite easy. If you want something that rivals the comfort of the Exped MegaMat but clocks in for a few dollars less, the Therm-a-Rest LuxuryMap is the pad for you.

Like the NeoAir Topo Luxe, this pad shines in the spaces between camping and backpacking, with an added twist. The Klymit Klymaloft ($160-270) adds a supremely soft foam topper to the upper two-thirds of the pad, and we aren’t lying when we say this pad just felt good to sink into.

By using a combination of air and foam construction, the Klymaloft straddles the line between comfort and packability — compressing down to a respectable 8-inch x 11.5-inch cylinder. We greatly appreciated being able to bring along such a small package, without sacrificing any comfort to do so.

Since it’s an air mattress first, the pad won’t self-inflate much and you’ll need to do some of the heavy lifting. Thankfully, the pad is compatible with Klymit’s USB Rechargeable Pump ($60), a little device that we’ve come to love for quick inflation while setting up camp.

There was one issue, however: the R-value of 2.3, which keeps this pad firmly on the summer side of a three-season designation, and on the lower end of all the pads we tested. You’ll need to bring a bit more insulation to stretch this pad into shoulder season use. Since our initial season of testing with the Klymaloft pad, we’ve now relegated it to camping trips in the middle of summer, where it seems perfectly happy performing.

At $160, this pad is an affordable and compact way to bring along a good bit of comfort on your next camping foray. It’s available in regular, extra large, and double sizes.

The Sea to Summit Camp Deluxe Sleeping Pad ($249) is another great option for those looking for maximum comfort in a camping pad. With even the smallest offering starting out at 25” wide, there’s plenty of space to stretch out on, and it only goes up from there.

We tested the regular wide version, but all Camp Deluxes come specced out from the Oz brand at a plush 4” thick, which has proved to be the Goldilocks measurement in all our years of camping mat testing. Perfect for under-inflating just a bit to get that right squish and support where you need it.

Set up on the Camp Deluxe is easy-as, although we were sorry to note that the stuff sack doesn’t double as a pump sack, so you’re on your own to get the mattress fully inflated once the foam has expanded. The valve is a two-in-one job that can function as a one-way inflation valve, fine-tuning pressure release, or dump valve, depending on how to flip the valve around. After allowing the mat to do its thing, it was easy to get it topped off.

The Camp Deluxe also scored top marks for next-to-skin comfort. The 30-denier knitted upper fabric is soft to the touch — but is a bit thin when compared to other mattresses we’ve tested. We have used this pad directly on the ground and in tents without a ground cloth, and so far, it’s been holding up.

What keeps the Camp Deluxe from the top of our list? For one, the Therm-a-Rest MondoKing 3D has the annoying habit of being just a bit better in the metrics that count. The Camp Deluxe is 4” thick, while the MondoKing is 4.25”. Sea to Summit keeps you warm with a 6.5 R-value, while Therm-a-Rest squeezes out 7. That and $10 separate these two pads, so your choice may come down to which you can get hands-on.

If the 4 inches of comfort of the MegaMat Duo 10 doesn’t quite do it for you, don’t stray far: The Exped MegaMat 15 Max ($350) bolsters the brand’s thickest camping mattress to a luxuriant 6 inches, and we’re here to say that bigger often is better.

With a thickness often only seen in purely air mattresses, the MegaMat 15 can be soft-inflated for the maximum of body cradling — and it avoids the typical bounce with the inclusion of channeled foam throughout the pad.

During testing, our reviewer had to often arm-wrestle their tent mate over who would get the ‘big mattress’ that evening. Such a large pad does take a while to fully expand, and once the foam has done its thing we needed to top it off with the included mini pump. Alternatively, Exped does offer its Widget Pump ($50), an ingenious little electric pump that speeds up the process significantly. 

When it came time to roll we greatly appreciated Exped’s inclusion of a roll-top style stuff sack that opens on the long bias. This made storing the pad a breeze, which is saying something — this pad is a beast in its stored form. Easily one of the largest in our testing, you’ll want to ensure you’ve got space set aside to bring this one along.

Other large and in charge mattresses to consider include the Big Agnes Capitan Comfort, which at 5″ comes the closest to the MegaMat Max, and while it packs down smaller and lighter, its R-value of 8.3 can’t take a proper swipe at the 10.6 the Swiss mattress offers up. When comfort is king (and money is no object), the MegaMat 15 Max reigns supreme.

Another excellent budget option, the REI Co-op Campwell Mattress ($119) does a lot for a little, boasting an R-value of 7, a durable polyester build, and a simple inflation system that means you can hit the sack quickly. 

While it is the thinnest mattress in our lineup at 2.5” thick, the cored foam design provides more cushion than you would expect. We find that 2.5” is about the thinnest mattress that can be par-inflated for extra cushion, and once done, the Campwell is easily cozy enough for multiple nights outdoors. The tapered sidewall design does eat into your total sleeping space a bit, but at 72×25”, it is just as long and wider than the highly comparable Therm-a-Rest LuxuryMap.

Compared to the older-style Camp Bed (the closest extinct relative of the Campwell), the newer mattress moved to a more modern two-valve inflation system. They aren’t quite as nice as the dual-use WingLock valves on many Therm-a-Rest pads, but are functionally similar to the valves of EXPED pads, with a dedicated inflation and deflation valve. Unfortunately, you won’t get an inflation sack here, but thankfully, there isn’t much space to inflate.

Along the pad’s perimeter are four grommets with corded toggles, meant to buddy up other Campwell pads and create a wider sleeping surface. It’s a simple solution — albeit lower-tech than the integrated zippers of the Exped Luxe — that just plain works. The NEMO Roamer XL also uses a toggle system, and while we find those pads combine better (due to the vertical sidewalls), we’re glad to see the tech extend to a more affordable pad.

For the added $60, it’s hard for us not to recommend the Camp Dreamer XL, which nets you a full 4” thick mattress, as well as a broader sleeping surface at 78″ x 30” to the Campwell’s 72″ x 25”. However, if you’re kitting out the whole family or just simply dipping your toe into camping, the REI Co-op Campwell Mattress is a low barrier of entry.